Property tax installment plans

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: whether Jersey City will set up an application process for property tax installment plans, which state law allows, before liens are sold.
Where it stands: administration committed on Oct 21 to work with the council on one-at-a-time installment plans for owner-occupied homes.
Next: the administration said it would take back how to set up a process.

Nolan said each installment plan must be approved by council resolution, one account at a time, and must be requested before the tax sale. An approved plan stays the sale of that lien.
Legal advised against limiting plans to owner-occupied homes or arrears under $10,000 because the statute does not set those conditions. A residency question could be asked but not used to deny a plan.
The tax office has no application process and historically no plans. A councilmember said a resident was told in the tax office that a plan was possible but that the lien would still go forward.
Plans do not count as cash toward the reserve for uncollected taxes.
Final bills mailed did not mention installment plans; members agreed notices of the tax sale list should say owners can apply.
Lavarro said even if only about 10% of the roughly 1,400 liens are owner-occupied one- and two-family homes, the city should help them, and urged the administration to build the process.

Several members tied their yes votes on the tax sale to payment plans. Lavarro said the administration committed to work with his office and the council on whether installment plans can be approved one owner-occupied home at a time, not a citywide program. Singh asked the administration to expand payment plan options so homeowners get every chance to pay before a sale; Griffin and Gilmore asked for an application process to be in place, Gilmore calling it a missed opportunity this year.
During public comment the first speaker described older homeowners at risk of losing homes over missed tax payments because they did not know about them.

2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus (video of the October 19 caucus, auto-captions)
2026-10-21 - Municipal Council (video of the October 21 regular meeting, auto-captions)
https://cityofjerseycity.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Id=374 (October 21 regular meeting agenda)

About 14 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-21 - Municipal Council	3
2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus	11

2026-10-21 - Municipal Council - Members tied yes votes on the tax sale to payment plans; administration committed to work on them.
2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus - Caucus: no installment plan process exists; council members pressed for one and for notice language telling owners they can apply.